Why it never ends

Chapter 1067 Time

In the temporary workstation, Ximoya sat alone on the second-floor rooftop. She saw Theresa's figure appear on the distant horizon. Theresa had been running around the marked points in the wasteland alone in the past two days. She went out at dawn and came back at dusk. Her face was calm and she would not say a word unless someone else talked to her.

Ximoya yawned and was about to go downstairs when she suddenly saw another figure behind Theresa: Hesta appeared again.

Ximoya froze for a moment and sat back in her seat.

Ende was resting on the first floor. When she heard the door open, she opened her eyes dazedly - she had slept all day. Theresa seemed to be used to this, and just asked in a slightly critical tone: "Didn't you have lunch again today?"

"I slept all day, I'm not hungry."

"You can go back now." Hesta said, "It must be boring to stay here these two days."

Ende had tears in her eyes: "... Mainly, there's nothing to do. Where's Zoe?"

"They have already gone back." Hesta glanced around the first floor, "Where is Ximoya?"

Theresa pointed to the second floor without saying a word.

"I'll go up for a moment," Hesta said, "You can go back after you've packed up."

"What about you?"

"I'll be later."

Hesta said as he stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor.

On the roof, Ximoya heard the approaching footsteps. It was not until Hesta climbed up the ladder and poked his head out of the patio to greet her that she looked back with a gloomy face.

"Are you okay?" Hesta responded cheerfully.

"Can we talk now?" Ximoya looked at the setting sun in the distance. "How long are you going to torture me?"

Hesta sat on the edge of the entrance, leaning against the patio, facing the opposite direction of Ximoya. She looked at her and said, "I went somewhere this morning."

Ximoya did not react.

"Before I set out this time, Kende gave me a photo album," Hesta said softly, "It showed a scorched earth from the area I ordered to be bombed. She wanted me to see the price - so this morning, I went to one of the places and went with a local..."

Ximoya's eyes moved slightly, and she turned her face slightly towards Hesta, saying sarcastically: "Go and confess?"

"Kendai must have been hoping I'd repent when she showed me those photos," Hesta said softly, "but unfortunately she probably won't get what she wants."

"...Then what were you doing?" Ximoya looked away again, speaking indifferently, "to admire the tragedy you caused?"

"I asked the person who was traveling with me a question," Hesta said, "I said, since they are also flesh and blood, and since they also know that both enemies and friends will bleed in this endless exchange of fire, why do they still point their guns at civilians and take the lives of ordinary people who have no grudges against them... He gave me an answer that I had never thought of before." Ximoya's throat moved slightly: "...What?"

"He asked me, if a large number of people working in the high-rise buildings in Emmanlia were dying every year from volatile organic compounds in the copy room, would everyone just turn a blind eye and go in and out of the copy room as usual?

“If there is an office building that collapses every year, taking the lives of some employees and executives indiscriminately every year, will the people working there get used to it?

"The answer is no, because for these urban residents who have long been accustomed to a comfortable life, they no longer have to consider serious illness and death as part of their daily work or even life. Some of them have the choice of finding another way to make a living, and some have the means to protect their rights. They have become so prosperous that they can forget that there is still inequality in the world, and they can work on their own land with peace of mind...

"And the misfortunes of another group of people - even if they happen near them - those disasters and sufferings become the scenery in their living rooms. They watch them and entertain them through television, photos, and written reports.

"So, a wish naturally arises." Hesta whispered, "Is there a power that can pull these innocent people down from the position they take for granted, and make these people who have never had to face death realize that there is still a blazing hatred and desire on the other side of the continent? Is there a way to make everyone stay in one place equally, even if they are in the same hell?"

The night wind blew through Ximoya's hair, and she stared silently at the setting sun.

"...It's nothing but the theory of original sin," Ximoya said softly, "Because there is still unfreedom, inequality, and immorality in the world, so all freedom, equality, and morality... carry original sin."

Hesta looked over and said, "You don't seem to agree with this approach."

Ximoya did not answer immediately. She turned her head to the side, facing the direction where Hesta could not see, and murmured in a low voice like a sigh: "...I don't know."

"Then you can think about it again." Hesta said, "I can give you some time."

Ximoya laughed at herself and turned her head: "Give me some time——"

"I can give you more work and come to check on your progress more frequently," Hesta looked into her eyes. "You can decide how much time I want to spend on your work based on the situation."

The last rays of the setting sun fell into Ximoya's eyes. She finally understood what Hesta was talking about. The panic that surged up at that moment swept away all her trivial thoughts. She trembled and said, "...I, I don't understand what you are saying..."

"Don't worry," Hesta raised his upper body and stood up along the ladder to the patio. "I told you, you have time to think about it."

……

The same dusk fell over the farm outside Emanlia.

During the days when Hesta was away, nobles from District 12 came in droves - however, no one came to the plantation. The nobles flocked to the emperor's palace and garden here, as if they were suddenly full of interest in the leisurely life in the suburbs.

All the old and young people who appeared here understood each other tacitly, and they were all thinking about the "deal" left by Hesta and Victoria. No one wanted to be the first person to show goodwill, but everyone was curious about who would come to the door, so they brought their families and entourage to vacation with great fanfare and enjoy the grace of His Majesty, but everyone's eyes were on the farm at the other end of the plantation.

Except for one person.

There were bursts of horse hooves' sounds on the racetrack at dusk. Chloe was riding her horse at full speed, running all the way on the flat path. The wind blew across her sweaty forehead. She held the reins, staring at the road ahead with sharp eyes, with no intention of stopping at all.